Groundbreaking for UCF's downtown campus

ORLANDO — City and university officials are breaking ground for a new campus of the University of Central Florida and Valencia College in downtown Orlando.

The groundbreaking ceremony is taking place Thursday in an area near where the Orlando Magic's arena used to be located before it was demolished. The downtown campus will open in 2019 and host 7,700 students from UCF and Valencia College.

Officials say it will be an important expansion for UCF, which already is one of the largest universities in the nation. The campus will offer programs in digital media, communication, health-care information technology, legal studies, social work and health-care administration.

Valencia College, the regional community college, will locate its culinary and hospitality programs there.